Chūshingura

Ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kuniteru depicting the assault of Asano Naganori on Kira Yoshinaka in the Matsu no Ōrōka of Edo Castle in 1701, an incident that triggered the tragedy of the Forty-seven rōnin

The historical basis for the narrative began in 1701. The ruling shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi placed Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, the daimyō of Akō, in charge of a reception of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He also appointed the protocol official (kōke) Kira Kōzuke-no-suke Yoshinaka to instruct Asano in the ceremonies. On the day of the reception, at Edo Castle, Asano drew his short sword and attempted to kill Kira. His reasons are not known, but many purport that an insult may have provoked him. For this act, he was sentenced to commit seppuku, but Kira did not receive any punishment. The shogunate confiscated Asano's lands (the Akō Domain) and dismissed the samurai who had served him, making them rōnin.

Nearly two years later, Ōishi Kuranosuke Yoshio, who had been a high-ranking samurai in the service of Asano, led a group of forty-six/forty-seven of the rōnin (some discount the membership of one for various reasons). They broke into Kira's mansion in Edo, captured and killed Kira, and laid his head at the grave of Asano at Sengaku-ji. They then turned themselves in to the authorities, and were sentenced to commit seppuku, which they all did on the same day that year. Ōishi is the protagonist in most retellings of the fictionalized form of what became known as the Akō incident, or, in its fictionalized form, the Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Chūshingura).[1][2]

In 1822, the earliest known account of the Akō incident in the West was published in Isaac Titsingh's posthumous book, Illustrations of Japan.[3]

In the story of the 47 rōnin, the concept of chūshin gishi is another interpretation taken by some. Chūshin gishi is usually translated as "loyal and dutiful samurai". However, as John Allen Tucker[4] points out that definition glosses over the religious meaning behind the term. Scholars during that time used that word to describe people who had given their lives for a greater cause in such a way that they deserved veneration after death. Such people were often entombed or memorialized at shrines.

However, there is a debate on whether they even should be worshiped and how controversial their tombs at Sengakuji are. Tucker raises a point in his article that the rōnin were condemned as rōnin, which was not an honorable state, but in the end their resting places are now honored. In other words, it is as if those that regarded the rōnin as chūshin gishi were questioning the decision of the Bakufu (the shogunate, the authorities who declared them rōnin), and perhaps even implying that the Bakufu had made a mistake. Those recognizing the rōnin as chūshin gishi were really focusing on the basics of samurai code where loyalty to your master is the ultimate and most sacred obligation.

In Chinese philosophy, Confucius used to say that the great ministers served their rulers the moral way. Early Confucianism emphasized loyalty, the moral way and objection and legitimate execution of wrongdoers. Chūshin gishi is interpreted as almost a blind loyalty to your master. In the Book of Rites, something similar to chūshin gishi is mentioned which is called zhongchen yishi. Interpretations of the passage from the Book identified those who would sacrifice themselves in the name of duty should live on idealized. However, there were also those such as Ogyū Sorai, that agreed on condemnation of the rōnin as criminals. Sorai, Satō Naokata, and Dazai Shundai were some of those who believed that the rōnin were merely criminals and murderers with no sense of righteousness, since they did violate the law by killing Kira Yoshinaka. So definitely there was controversy revolving around the legitimacy of the rōnins' actions.

Confucianism and the deification of the rōnins collision is something that is very important to the way to understanding Bakufu law. Confucian classics and the Bakufu law may have seemed to complement each other to allow revenge. Hayashi Hōkō claims that the idolization of the rōnin may have been allowed because their actions matched with the Chinese loyalists. Also suggesting that only by killing themselves would they be able to claim their title as chūshin gishi. Hokō summarized that there might have been a correlation between the law and the lessons put forth in Confucian classics.

Actually during the seventeenth century there was a system of registered vendettas. This meant that people could avenge a murder of a relative, but only after their plans strictly adhered to legal guidelines. However, the Akō vendetta did not adhere to this legalized system. Thus, they had to look to Confucian texts to justify their vendetta. Chūshin gishi is something that cannot be looked on lightly in regards to this story because it is the main idea in this story. Loyalty and duty to one's master as a retainer is everything in the story of the 47 rōnin.

Being able to draw Confucianist values from this story is no coincidence, it is said that Asano was a Confucian. So it would only seem natural that his retainers would practice the same thing. Their ultimate sacrifice for their master is something that is held in high regard in Confucianism because they are fulfilling their responsibility to the fullest extent. There is nothing more after that kind of sacrifice. At that point the warriors have given their everything to their master. That type of devotion is hard to contest as something other than being a chūshin gishi.

The puppet play based on these events was entitled Kanadehon Chūshingura and written by Takeda Izumo (1691–1756),[5] Miyoshi Shōraku (c. 1696 – 1772)[6] and Namiki Senryū (1695 – c. 1751).[7] It was first performed in August 1748 at the Takemoto-za theater in the Dōtonbori entertainment district in Osaka, and an almost identical kabuki adaptation appeared later that year. The title means "Kana practice book Treasury of the loyal retainers". The "kana practice book" aspect refers to the coincidence that the number of rōnin matches the number of kana, and the play portrayed the rōnin as each prominently displaying one kana to identify him. The forty-seven rōnin were the loyal retainers of Asano; the title likened them to a warehouse full of treasure. To avoid censorship, the authors placed the action in the time of the Taiheiki (a few centuries earlier), changing the names of the principals. The play is performed every year in both the bunraku and kabuki versions, though more often than not it is only a few selected acts which are performed and not the entire work.

• 
  Utagawa Kuniyoshi, The Monster's Chūshingura (Bakemono Chūshingura), ca. 1836, Princeton University Art Museum, Acts 9–11 of the Kanadehon Chūshingura with act nine at top right, act ten at bottom right, act eleven, scene 1, at top left, act eleven, scene 2 at bottom left
• 
  Utagawa Kuniyoshi, The Monster's Chūshingura (Bakemono Chūshingura), ca. 1836, Princeton University Art Museum, Acts 5–8 of the Kanadehon Chūshingura with act five at top right, act six at bottom right, act seven at top left, act eight at bottom left
• 
  Utagawa Kuniyoshi, The Monster's Chūshingura (Bakemono Chūshingura), ca. 1836, Princeton University Art Museum, Acts 1–4 of the Kanadehon Chūshingura with act one at top right, act two at bottom right, act three at top left, act four at bottom left

December is a popular time for performances of Chūshingura. Because the break-in occurred in December (according to the old calendar), the story is often retold in that month.

• Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki
• Matsu no Ōrōka

• Brandon, James R. "Myth and Reality: A Story of Kabuki during American Censorship, 1945–1949", Asian Theatre Journal, Volume 23, Number 1, Spring 2006, pp. 1–110.
• Cavaye, Ronald, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda. (2005). A Guide to the Japanese Stage. Tokyo: Kodansha International. ISBN 978-4-7700-2987-4
• Dickins, Frederick V. (trans.), Chiushingura, or The Loyal League. A Japanese Romance. With Notes and an Appendix (1875; 2nd ed. Allen & Co., 1880)
• 新井政義（編集者）『日本史事典』。東京：旺文社 1987 (p. 87)
• Takeuchi, Rizō（編）『日本史小辞典』。東京：Kadokawa Shoten 1985, pp. 349–350.
• Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012). Forty-Seven Ronin: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Edition. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00ADQGLB8
• Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012). Forty-Seven Ronin: Utagawa Kuniyoshi Edition. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00ADQM8II
• Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301
• Screech, Timon. (2006). Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822. London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 978-0-7007-1720-0 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-203-09985-8 (electronic)
• Postel, Philippe (2019), Les Vaillants d'Akô. Le mythe des quarante-sept rônins au Japon et en Occident. Paris: Classiques Garnier, "Perspectives comparatistes", 81. ISBN 978-2-406-07273-7. Postel, Philippe (2017), Les Quarante-sept rônin. Histoire d'un mythe en estampes. Nantes: Editions du château des ducs de Bretagne. ISBN 978-2-906519-64-0.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ukiyo-e of the Forty-seven Ronin.

• Chushingura at IMDB